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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
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Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• An email address listed inside this email has been used in a known fraud before.
• The following fake company names, fake addresses, non-existent institutions/documents or other details have appeared in scams before:
  • "uk national lottery" (can only win this lottery if you bought a ticket)
• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "claims agent" (real lotteries do not use a "claim agent" / "fiduciary agent")
  • ",000,000" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
• This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
  
  1. They don't notify winners by email.
  2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
  3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
  4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
  5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
  6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
  7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +2348035529762 (Nigeria, prepaid mobile phone)
• This email lists free webmail addresses. Use of such addresses is typical for scams. Lotteries, banks and any but the smallest of companies do not normally use such addresses. Criminals use them to anonymously send and receive email at Internet cafes.
  • revalbertwonder1@gmail.com (email address has been used in a known fraud before)

Fraud email example:

From: Uk National Lottery Commission <wkudrow007@msn.com>
Reply-To: <revalbertwonder1@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 07:18:19 +0000
Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Your_Email?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?_emmerged_?=
=?iso-8859-1?Q?as_winner_?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?of_=A31=2C000=2C?=
=?iso-8859-1?Q?000_GBP?=



Uk National Lottery
101, Wigmore St, London, W1U 1QU
Date: 27th of May, 2009
Reference: 575061725
Batch: 8056490902/188
Winning number:1/2/26/30/40/21

Dear Winner,

This is to inform you that your Email Address have emerged winner of the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY .You have therefore been approved to claim a total sum of £1,000,000 GBP ( ONE MILLION GREAT BRITISH POUNDS STERLING).

To file for your claim . Please quote your Date of draw,Reference Number, Batch Number and Winning Number, which can be found on the top-left corner of this message. For security reasons, we advice all winners to keep this information confidential from the public until your claim is processed and your prize has been released to you. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted taking advantage of this programme by non-participant or unofficial personnel.

NB:YOUR WINNING NUMBERS FALL WITHIN OUR WEST AFRICAN CLAIM ZONE, SO YOU ARE REQUIRED TO CONTACT THE AUTHORIZED CLAIMS AGENT FOR THE CLAIM OF YOUR WINNINGS
Contact details:

Contact Person: Rev. Albert Wonder
Email: revalbertwonder1@gmail.com
Tel:+234-803-552-9762

Note: All winnings MUST be claimed before the 29th of October. 2009; otherwise all funds will be canceled.


Yours Faithfully,
William kudrow
Online coordinator for
Uk National Lottery.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam